How to Get Started With ClickUp

ClickUp helps you bring time tracking, task management, and project collaboration into one platform so you can work faster and stay organized. This how-to guide walks you through the basic steps to set up your workspace, customize views, and manage your time efficiently.

1. Understand What ClickUp Can Do

Before setting up your account, it helps to understand the role ClickUp can play in your workflow. The platform combines project management and time tracking features, aiming to reduce the number of tools your team needs.

From the perspective of someone comparing it to tools like Clockify, the big advantage is that task management, reporting, and time logs live in a single space instead of being split across apps.

• Track time directly on tasks
• Organize work by projects, lists, and statuses
• Visualize tasks on different views
• Generate reports on time spent and progress

You can also explore an in-depth review of another tool that ClickUp often replaces by visiting this Clockify review.

2. Create Your ClickUp Workspace

To begin, create a workspace that will hold all of your projects and tasks. Think of it as your company or team home base.

1. Sign up with your email and confirm your account.

2. Name your workspace so teammates can recognize it.

3. Invite collaborators who will track time and manage tasks with you.

4. Select basic preferences, like the type of work you do and the features you want to enable first.

At this stage, keep things simple. Your initial goal is to get tasks into ClickUp and start seeing how everything connects.

3. Structure Projects and Tasks in ClickUp

The next step is to create a clear structure so your time logs and tasks are easy to find later. ClickUp uses a hierarchy to organize work from broad to specific.

3.1 Set Up Spaces for Major Areas

Spaces act like departments or large project groups.

• Create one Space for each team (for example, Marketing, Product, or Client Services).
• Use colors and icons to quickly distinguish Spaces.
• Enable only the features that team needs, such as time tracking or sprints.

3.2 Add Folders and Lists

Inside each Space, organize work further into Folders and Lists.

• Folders group related projects or clients.
• Lists break work into task groups, such as campaigns, releases, or epics.

By mapping projects this way, you make it easier to filter and report on time later.

3.3 Create Tasks and Subtasks

Now add tasks where you and your team will actually log time.

1. Create a new task with a clear name and description.

2. Add subtasks to break down complex work.

3. Assign owners and due dates.

4. Set priorities so teammates know what to work on first.

Every task in ClickUp can become a time entry, which means you can connect time spent directly to deliverables.

4. Track Time in ClickUp

Time tracking is one of the most important features when you are replacing stand-alone tools. Using ClickUp, you can record time from several places without leaving your tasks.

4.1 Start a Timer on a Task

To record time as you work:

1. Open the task you are about to work on.

2. Click the time tracking button or timer icon.

3. Start the timer when you begin work.

4. Stop the timer when you finish or switch tasks.

The tracked time is stored on that task along with any notes you add.

4.2 Log Time Manually

If you forgot to start the timer, you can still log time in ClickUp.

1. Open the task.

2. Choose the option to add a manual time entry.

3. Enter the duration, date, and any notes.

This approach is useful when you are migrating from a tool like Clockify and want to input historical time.

4.3 Review Time Entries

After your team has logged time, review entries at the task, list, or project level.

• Filter by user, date range, or task status.
• Identify tasks that are taking longer than expected.
• Check which projects consume the most hours.

This insight helps you adjust workloads and timelines without exporting data into another app.

5. Use ClickUp Views to Manage Work

Views in ClickUp let you see the same tasks in different layouts so you can manage execution and time usage more effectively.

5.1 List and Board Views

Start with two core views:

• List view shows tasks in a simple table-style layout.
• Board view organizes tasks into columns, similar to a Kanban board.

Both views let you see assignees, due dates, and time tracked, so you can quickly scan who is doing what and how long work is taking.

5.2 Calendar and Timeline Views

To manage schedules, switch to Calendar or Timeline views.

• Drag tasks across days to adjust deadlines.
• Check overlaps and gaps in your team’s schedule.
• Use time estimates alongside tracked time to compare plan versus reality.

These views help you make better decisions about capacity and resource planning.

5.3 Custom Views for Reporting

Create custom views that focus on time-related data.

• Filter by tasks with tracked time this week.
• Show only billable work for a specific client.
• Save the configuration so you can reuse it for regular reporting.

Because these views live right inside ClickUp, you avoid switching tools to understand where time goes.

6. Apply ClickUp Templates

Templates speed up setup so you can standardize the way your team tracks time and manages tasks.

1. Browse available templates for project management, agile workflows, or client services.

2. Pick one that matches your team’s structure.

3. Customize statuses, custom fields, and views to meet your needs.

Many teams that previously used separate apps for projects and time tracking find that a consistent template in ClickUp reduces confusion and improves adoption.

7. Generate Simple Time and Work Reports

Once your workspace is active, you can generate basic reports to understand how your team uses time.

• Summarize hours logged per user.
• Review time spent per project or client.
• Compare time estimates to actuals.

Use this data for invoicing, budgeting, and planning sprints without needing to export data into a separate tracker.

8. Improve Your Setup Over Time

Start small with ClickUp and grow your setup as your team becomes comfortable.

• Collect feedback from team members on which views they use most.
• Streamline your hierarchy to remove unused Spaces or Lists.
• Introduce advanced features gradually, such as automation or integrations.

For more strategy and implementation guidance as you optimize processes and documentation around your workspace, you can also reach out to specialized consultants like Consultevo.

9. Replace Multiple Tools With ClickUp

By carefully structuring your workspace, enabling time tracking, and standardizing templates, you can often use ClickUp in place of several separate apps.

Following the steps in this guide will help you:

• Unify project and time management
• Reduce context switching
• Gain clearer insight into workloads and progress

Start by mapping your existing workflows into ClickUp, test them with a small team, and then expand once everyone is comfortable using a single work hub.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

Get Help

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